Mr Spence said the protests had been important and added: "(Without them) I doubt that the government would have given us the 1.2p freeze in duty proposed for October. I like to think that we have achieved something this week."

Mr Spence, who was among a small group of protesters at the Shell refinery in Jarrow, south Tyneside, said: "We didn't want a lot of people here, I would rather there was just a handful of us."

At Purfleet in Essex protesters held placards saying "Support British Hauliers" and "End Labour's War on the Motorist". A man from the Isle of Sheppey in Kent was later charged with obstructing the highway.

Queuing was orderly, with six separate queues, one for each row of pumps and very little grumbling by anyone. All very British!

At the Vopek terminal in nearby Thurrock, one protester who drove his car on to the wrong side of the road to try to block a tanker was moved by police. An ambulance was called after he complained that he had hurt his back.

A number of other refineries saw small-scale demonstrations, while others reported that it was business as usual.

In September 2000 many hauliers, farmers, taxi drivers and others joined the protests - which saw refineries blockaded for a day and then picketed - with fuel shortages hitting motorists across the UK.